Kurosendo - Black Death

His nails were long and painted black; his hair was down to his knees, a few pieces were braided by the front; his eyes were hidden by soft gray bangs; scars ran across his right cheek, neck and his left pinky, too.

"Undertaker..." A much younger male whined, his hair was to his waist and a beautiful shade of crimson. "...we're just gonna sit here and do nothing?" He frowned, making his face much more unattractive to the older man.

"I'm waiting on a customer, for your information, Grell." The Undertaker said boredly. "Her younger brother suffered through stab wounds on the street. There was no saving him, apparently." He held a piece of paper listlessly. "She's to the point, at least, not a ton of paperwork for you to file." Undertaker hated the job of filing paperwork, so he hired the lesser boy for the duty.

"Ah~ she must be a saint!" Grell laughed loudly, just as flamboyant as ever.

As if on cue, there was a small knock on the door before it opened and a bell chimed to announce the young maiden who walked in slowly. Her hair was a light chocolate brown and her eyes looked like caramel. She was dressed in an odd fashion for the time, wearing slightly tight black pants instead of a dress and a black blouse that barely showed any of her flat chest.

"Hello, Mr. Undertaker." She said softly, not even bothering to look around. Her eyes were locked on the pale man across the room.

"Why'd ya knock? It says 'OPEN' right on the door!" Grell exclaimed, frazzled by the strange woman.

"Now now, Grell, be kind to our guest. I take it you're the one who sent in the paper?" He let out a slight giggle, suddenly more interested in what was going on.

"Yes, my name is Shiin." She bowed her head politely. Behind the bangs, Undertaker lifted an eyebrow curiously at her name.

"Shiin, eh? Well, my Undertaker will make your brother look gorgeous for his final reception!" Grell said, still sounding enthusiastic. He barely got a glance from the woman or even his boss.

"I won't need a large funeral, just a small, private service." She said softly. "Kiji was small, and we were alone. So just for two people is enough... Me and him..." She whispered, tears touching her eyes.

"Him and I." Undertaker corrected her, still smiling a bit. "Do you have my advanced payment?" This statement made her blink. "A-advanced?"

"Of course." He chortled. "I get a payment now, and a payment later. I'm bored, so it better be good!"

He noticed the way she trembled a bit, biting back a few tears. "I-I don't have any money, though... I was hoping to pay you later, once I could find a job..." She sniffed and wiped her eyes. Long black gloves went up to her elbows.

"Now now, don't cry, pretty young thing." Undertaker snickered. Grell took his lead, "Undertaker doesn't take money! You've gotta make him laugh, but trust me, it's hard!" Grell grimaced, remembering when he had to get in a frilly pink cocktail dress and dance with a cat just so he could get the job he had now. The man still hadn't been impressed and insisted he did a crabwalk while balancing a coffin on his tummy. He placed a hand over it absentmindedly and grimaced again.

"Laugh?" She stared, a bit surprised. "That's all?"

"I have no use for the Queen's bill." He snickered. "She thinks herself so high and mighty on that throne and leaves others to toil in the dirt. And a laugh is much better, don't you think? More interesting."

"Y-yes." She smiled; glad to get to skip the fees.

He watched her for a moment. "Well? I'm waiting. Make me laugh, Shiin." He leaned back casually against a coffin. This made her gulp nervously.

"U-um... Confucius says..." She began. Grell lifted an eyebrow at her choice while the Undertaker waited, growing bored and impatient.

"Man who... run in front of carriage get tired. Man who run behind carriage get pooped... Man with hand in pocket feel cocky all day."

There was a long pause of silence and the Undertaker giggled a bit. "That's so - so silly!" He laughed. "It's just so stupid!" He fell back behind his desk, laughing. Shiin blushed, honestly a bit embarrassed.

"S-so, it wasn't funny?" She winced, feeling like she was being mocked.

"I-hi-hi-hi-hi..." He slowly gained control but twitched occasionally. "It was good enough. Would you like to see the design for your little brother?"

Shiin nodded quickly, happy to be back to business. He held out a sketch to her and Grell was surprised when he saw tears touch her eyes. "It's perfect, thank you."

Grell looked over her shoulder. The sketch was of a coffin about 4 feet in height with a classic style, a cross was carved into the front and the description said the wood would be oak. "What's so special about it?" Grell frowned for the umpteenth time that day.

Shiin threw her arms around Undertaker's neck, still ignoring Grell. Undertaker smiled and hugged her back. "It's not about being special, Grell. She's getting something beautiful to let her brother have his final rest, free of charge." Shiin sobbed quietly into Undertaker's neck and he rubbed her back comfortingly.

~~~

He'd waited so long for this day; a week seemed like quite awhile to see her again. When he approached the graveyard, she was standing by a square-cut hole. There'd been no service, just a burial. She was wearing a soft looking black dress he had Grell deliver to her.

"It's nice to see you again." She smiled gently; her eyes weren't red, surprisingly.

The Undertaker nodded and was holding a bouquet of white lilies. The coffin was lying open by the hole and a young boy about 6 with soft brown hair was wearing shorts and a black sweater that was a bit baggy on him, more clothes the Undertaker had sent over. Small buttercups surrounded the boy that had been in coffin when she had found it by the spot the Undertaker had said to meet him at.

"Why buttercups?" She asked softly but smiled down at her little brother.

"To symbolize childishness, he lived a happy life, I'm sure. Especially if he grew up with someone like you."

A small blush touched Shiin's cheeks. "I'm sure Kiji would've loved you..." She whispered.

"I-hi-hi-hi. You are quite funny, my dear." He helped her close and lower the coffin into the ground before filling up the hole as she looked on patiently. He placed the white lilies on the ground over where the body rested.

"The lilies are for purity, and they're my favorite, signature flower." He flashed a peace sign and grinned. "Stop by anytime, I'd like the company."
She blinked and nodded slightly, caught off guard. "I-I'll do just that."

As he began to walk away, she hugged him from behind. "Thank you, Undertaker." She stood on her tip-toes and kissed his cheek. He chuckled a bit and looked back over his shoulder; she caught a flash of a pale silver eye.

"Keep your soul safe, Shiin." He said quietly before walking off. Once he was out of sight, she mumbled a soft prayer and moved on.